Simple question: Does the Archivist's Manifest Mind have a flight speed?
It's not explicitly stated in the description BUT I cannot find an instance of another ability/creature that grants "hover" without flight.
I feel like the intended use is for the mind to have a movement of :
Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover), With a max range (from the magic item) of 300ft And it can be initially summoned upto 60ft away (from the you/magic item)
Artificial Mind - Manifest Mind
As a bonus action while the item is on your person, you can cause the mind to manifest as a Tiny spectral presence, hovering in an unoccupied space of your choice within 60 feet of you. This presence is intangible and invulnerable, and it sheds dim light in a 10-foot radius. You determine its appearance; the Artificial Mind table offers suggested appearances based on the object’s main material.
While manifested, the spectral mind can hear and see, and it has darkvision with a range of 60 feet. As an action, you can hear and see using the mind’s senses, instead of your own, until your concentration ends (as if concentrating on a spell).
As a bonus action, you can cause the spectral mind to hover up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space that you or it can see. It can pass through creatures but not objects. The spectral mind stops manifesting if it is ever more than 300 feet away from its magic item or if you dismiss it as a bonus action.
When you cast an artificer spell on your turn, you can cast it as if you were in the spectral mind’s space, instead of your own, using its senses. You can do so a number of times per day equal to your Intelligence modifier (at least once), and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
The Manifested Mind works much the same way Mage Hand does - it doesn't have a movement speed, but you can control/manipulate it yourself within the boundaries of its stated movement. Nothing about the ability says that the spaces you choose when you manifest the mind, or when you move it, have to be on the ground. Given that it's an intangible spectral presence, I would suppose there's no reason it couldn't 'fly' if you made it do so.
Which is just another reason why the Archivist spec is mad overtuned and could really use a balance pass. Yeesh that sucker is absolutely ridiculous...
The Manifested Mind works much the same way Mage Hand does - it doesn't have a movement speed, but you can control/manipulate it yourself within the boundaries of its stated movement. Nothing about the ability says that the spaces you choose when you manifest the mind, or when you move it, have to be on the ground. Given that it's an intangible spectral presence, I would suppose there's no reason it couldn't 'fly' if you made it do so.
Which is just another reason why the Archivist spec is mad overtuned and could really use a balance pass. Yeesh that sucker is absolutely ridiculous...
So it doesn't "fly" so much as just move 30ft in any direction including upwards?
Ok cool. And yeah it seems pretty powerful for exploration. But sending a glowing brain round a dungeon will just alert everyone surly? It can't stealth like AT ALL. And once it gets to a door its just stuck there right?
The light does mean that even an archivist without darkvision can explore the darkest area intensively, but the fact that it is visible also feeds back in to the general DM conundrum as to how handle in-world an "intangible presence" that the player has total freedom to determine the appearance of.
I.e. Can you distract primitives by making it look like a messenger of their gods, or beasts by making it look like some juicy bug/fish/whatever - basically treat it like a glowing Minor Illusion with unlimited duration, 300 ft range and that cannot be discerned to be an illusion (since it isn't).
Which is small potatoes compared to how educated foes are supposed to react to them; is any tiny glowing shape supposed to instigate a full-scale man-hunt for an archivist (who can in no way be tied to the mind anyway), while also staying more than 35 ft away from it - on pain of death - at all times?
If that is considered a reasonable response, then Dancing Lights basically become the greatest control spell in the game because you can send your foes scattering in panic by moving a few glowing orbs towards them...
I'm laissez-faire on most balance issues (e.g. RAW ranger and UA brute), and understand they don't want to make the Artificer features cantrips for fear of them becoming widespread, but if they really let Manifest Mind and Information Overload be published in their current form I think it is a definite mistake; their sheer lack of definition necessitates DM's arbitrarily inventing controls & counters, to the degree that banning the subclass is probably the kindest house rule to adopt.
The Manifested Mind works much the same way Mage Hand does - it doesn't have a movement speed, but you can control/manipulate it yourself within the boundaries of its stated movement. Nothing about the ability says that the spaces you choose when you manifest the mind, or when you move it, have to be on the ground. Given that it's an intangible spectral presence, I would suppose there's no reason it couldn't 'fly' if you made it do so.
Which is just another reason why the Archivist spec is mad overtuned and could really use a balance pass. Yeesh that sucker is absolutely ridiculous...
So it doesn't "fly" so much as just move 30ft in any direction including upwards?
Ok cool. And yeah it seems pretty powerful for exploration. But sending a glowing brain round a dungeon will just alert everyone surly? It can't stealth like AT ALL. And once it gets to a door its just stuck there right?
Manifest Mind allows the artificer unlimited at-will ability to displace his senses (i.e. via the high-level Arcane Eye spell or the fragile, vulnerable Find Familiar spell), some ability reminiscent of Minor Illusion as Vorsa pointed out, as well as scaling cantrip-style damage targeting a rare save many creatures are very poor at making with a powerful debilitating bonus effect that can also deliver Psychic Smite damage. At higher levels Psychic Smite can stun, and the manifested mind also allows you to teleport either up to 300 feet or for infinite distance, because it never tells you how far away one of your magical infusion items can be before you can teleport to it. Got a buddy with one of your Many-Handed Pouches on another continent? No problem!
Not to mention you get to use whatever object you magically turn into a ghostly superbrain as a spellcasting focus (start wearing gloves, Archivists, and gain the ability to use your gloved hand as a spellcasting focus), gain two floating skill proficiencies you can change as needed, and all of this WITHOUT ATTUNEMENT and only a light cost in spell slots.
The Archivist is bonkers. Absolutely bugnuts, vastly more powerful than any other Artificer specialization, and is in dire need of some adjustment.
Simple question: Does the Archivist's Manifest Mind have a flight speed?
It's not explicitly stated in the description BUT I cannot find an instance of another ability/creature that grants "hover" without flight.
I feel like the intended use is for the mind to have a movement of :
Speed 0 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover),
With a max range (from the magic item) of 300ft
And it can be initially summoned upto 60ft away (from the you/magic item)
The Manifested Mind works much the same way Mage Hand does - it doesn't have a movement speed, but you can control/manipulate it yourself within the boundaries of its stated movement. Nothing about the ability says that the spaces you choose when you manifest the mind, or when you move it, have to be on the ground. Given that it's an intangible spectral presence, I would suppose there's no reason it couldn't 'fly' if you made it do so.
Which is just another reason why the Archivist spec is mad overtuned and could really use a balance pass. Yeesh that sucker is absolutely ridiculous...
Why you shouldn't start ANOTHER thread about DDB not giving away free redeems on your hardcopy book purchases.
Thinking of starting ANOTHER thread asking why Epic Boons haven't been implemented? Read this first to learn why you shouldn't!
So it doesn't "fly" so much as just move 30ft in any direction including upwards?
Ok cool. And yeah it seems pretty powerful for exploration. But sending a glowing brain round a dungeon will just alert everyone surly? It can't stealth like AT ALL. And once it gets to a door its just stuck there right?
The light does mean that even an archivist without darkvision can explore the darkest area intensively, but the fact that it is visible also feeds back in to the general DM conundrum as to how handle in-world an "intangible presence" that the player has total freedom to determine the appearance of.
I.e. Can you distract primitives by making it look like a messenger of their gods, or beasts by making it look like some juicy bug/fish/whatever - basically treat it like a glowing Minor Illusion with unlimited duration, 300 ft range and that cannot be discerned to be an illusion (since it isn't).
Which is small potatoes compared to how educated foes are supposed to react to them; is any tiny glowing shape supposed to instigate a full-scale man-hunt for an archivist (who can in no way be tied to the mind anyway), while also staying more than 35 ft away from it - on pain of death - at all times?
If that is considered a reasonable response, then Dancing Lights basically become the greatest control spell in the game because you can send your foes scattering in panic by moving a few glowing orbs towards them...
I'm laissez-faire on most balance issues (e.g. RAW ranger and UA brute), and understand they don't want to make the Artificer features cantrips for fear of them becoming widespread, but if they really let Manifest Mind and Information Overload be published in their current form I think it is a definite mistake; their sheer lack of definition necessitates DM's arbitrarily inventing controls & counters, to the degree that banning the subclass is probably the kindest house rule to adopt.
Manifest Mind allows the artificer unlimited at-will ability to displace his senses (i.e. via the high-level Arcane Eye spell or the fragile, vulnerable Find Familiar spell), some ability reminiscent of Minor Illusion as Vorsa pointed out, as well as scaling cantrip-style damage targeting a rare save many creatures are very poor at making with a powerful debilitating bonus effect that can also deliver Psychic Smite damage. At higher levels Psychic Smite can stun, and the manifested mind also allows you to teleport either up to 300 feet or for infinite distance, because it never tells you how far away one of your magical infusion items can be before you can teleport to it. Got a buddy with one of your Many-Handed Pouches on another continent? No problem!
Not to mention you get to use whatever object you magically turn into a ghostly superbrain as a spellcasting focus (start wearing gloves, Archivists, and gain the ability to use your gloved hand as a spellcasting focus), gain two floating skill proficiencies you can change as needed, and all of this WITHOUT ATTUNEMENT and only a light cost in spell slots.
The Archivist is bonkers. Absolutely bugnuts, vastly more powerful than any other Artificer specialization, and is in dire need of some adjustment.
Why you shouldn't start ANOTHER thread about DDB not giving away free redeems on your hardcopy book purchases.
Thinking of starting ANOTHER thread asking why Epic Boons haven't been implemented? Read this first to learn why you shouldn't!